A fresh start and much more generous agreement was established by the Lega Calcio concerning the Supercoppa Italiana last summer. The match – played between the Coppa Italia winners and Scudetto winners – would be played in the Middle Eastern country in January for three-years, with the each of the two clubs competing for the trophy receiving a cash prize of €3.5 million.
This negotiation involving Saudi Arabia’s sports minister, Turki Alalshikh, was completed back in June of 2018: as Italian football was continuing to become more and more international – directed at the rich Eastern markets – the Lega agreed that this was the best way to promote the Serie A to them. In comparison to China, where the Lega was acquiring €4 million per year, they now obtain a figure double to that of which the Asian country were offering at €8 million per year (€24 million over three years).
Therefore, Lazio vs Juventus this upcoming January will be the eleventh time that the Supercoppa Italiana will be played abroad. This ‘tradition’ kicked-off back in 1993, when Milan and Torino met in Washington. Since then, there has been an outing in Libya (2002), another edition in the United States (2003), four in China between Beijing and Shanghai (2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015), two in Doha, Qatar (2014 and 2016), and most recently (2018) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
As it stands, the official date and city is yet to be determined for the 2019 Supercoppa Italiana, however, The Laziali will be adamant to keep you up to date on any future developments.